In a pellet stove, fuel pellets are stored in a pellet hopper, sometimes found at the rear and or side of the stove. Most stoves use screw augers, located so as not to be heated by the heat exchanger, to move pellets smoothly and efficiently from the pellet hopper to the combustion chamber.
Unfortunately, the burning of pellets by this type of stove is not as efficient as would be ultimately desirable. Moisture in the pellets prevents the heat in the combustion chamber from that required to achieve the highest burn efficiency. This relatively low burn efficiency also causes unburned combustible compounds to escape from the stove into the atmosphere. With increasing societal awareness of air pollution, governmental bodies are increasingly originating and enforcing standards against pellet stoves. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a pellet stove that would achieve more complete fuel consumption, both for the greater economy achieved and for the lower emissions.